IN A WORLD filled with branded perfumes, an artisan fragrance brand stands out as it vows to sell an experience, not just a bottle of liquid that smells good.
Oscar Mejia Artisan Fragrances, a perfume business owned by a Dabawenyo natural perfumer, the first and only in the country, is making a good business by leading the artisan perfumery industry in the Philippines.
Mejia said that his fragrances are proudly handcrafted and produced in the Philippines wherein "every scent is a concoction of fine, pure and all natural essential oils that are carefully designed, blended and bottled to provide a distinct olfactory experience that preserves memories and celebrates the rich Filipino heritage."
Started in 2013, the artisan fragrance brand is offering bespoke services including Scentscaping and Olfactive Branding.
"My design process begins by providing clients with a questionnaire to help them articulate what they want. I ask for various elements that they want to remember or think of when they smell the scent- memories, colors, textures, images and even music," Mejia said adding that the next thing he does is designing a concept board "to check if he and the client is consistent in what they want" and how he "envisions" the scent.
Mejia added that once he reached the "perfect combination" stage, next phase would be figuring out how much of each oil are needed, a real trial and error process.
In presenting to the client, Mejia shared that he usually presents three studies (of scents) for the client to evaluate.
"We can either alter it or scrap the concept all together. When we agree on a scent, we go through production of the final product. We also discuss the packaging and the labels which are likewise customizable," he said.
The whole process of artisan perfume making, for Mejia, takes a minimum of four to six weeks.
"I treat perfumery as an art as I try to immerse myself into the inspiration of the client to get a bulls eye of what they want. My design process is all about experience and so far it has helped me make my clients very happy with our output," he said.
Some of the artisan perfumery brand's products are Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne collections.
Scentscaping
In its website, the natural perfumer defined "Scentscaping" as "the design of an interior environment by using a palette of scents to resonate with other sensory cues including light, color, music and texture; in order to convey a theme or enhance a mood with the intention of creating a richer personal and inter-personal experience."
Scantscaping can be applied for anyone's homes, events, weddings, among others.
Olfactive Branding
In a competitive business environment where branding and winning consumer reality is a real challenge, companies are now considering scent as the "Last Branding Frontier."
Olfactive Branding "is a natural and powerful extension of the brand's existing marketing strategy. If the scent is designed exclusively for the brand and transmits not only the brand's identity through smell but also resonates with the brand's target market, the scent can have a very powerful emotional response with the end client."
Mejia said that in the Philippines, they have worked with Dusit Thani - Davao, a luxury property in Davao City for their launch event.
In Davao City, Oscar Mejia Artisan Fragrances products are available in Seagreen cafe and lifestyle shop at Circumferential Road, Dona Vicenta Subdivision.
For online orders and inquiries, visit www.oscarmejiaartisanfragrances.com
